Although the leaders of the former Soviet Union did not allow citizens to speak freely about UFOs, a new book finally reveals major UFO cases that have surfaced since the USSR fell, including the reported 1986 crash of a UFO in Dalnegorsk, Russia.

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Witnesses say something not of this world crash-landed on a hilltop in the Russian mining town of Dalnegorsk in 1986, according to the new book Russia's Roswell Incident and Other Amazing UFO Cases from the Former Soviet Union by former Soviet refugee Paul Stonehill and British UFO expert Philip Mantle. Metal fragments recovered at the site of the Dalnegorsk crash continue to puzzle scientists today. When subjected to heat, some of the elements “disappear” and are replaced by others. Some fragments display anti-gravitational properties.

Early in 2012, media headlines throughout the United States announced, “Russian Roswell UFO Artifact Featured at National Atomic Testing Museum in Las Vegas.” For most Americans, it was their first exposure to one of the world’s most intriguing UFO stories since the reported crash of a UFO near Roswell, New Mexico, in July 1947. The mysterious 1986 crash-landing of a spherical flying object on a hill in the town of Dalnegorsk in Southeastern Russia was finally getting the attention it has long deserved.

At the National Atomic Testing Museum, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, a clear glass case displays glassy spheres and bits of metal in vials recovered from a red orb that streaked over the Russian mining town of Dalnegorsk and crashed into Mount Izvestkovayaon January 29 1986. The exhibit’s description reads: “Three Soviet academic centers and 11 research institutes analyzed the objects from this UFO crash. The distance between atoms is different from ordinary iron. Radar cannot be reflected from the material.

“Elements in the material may disappear and new ones appear after heating. One piece disappeared completely in front of four witnesses. The core of the material is composed of a substance with anti-gravitational properties.”

The case is notable because of this extremely strange trace evidence, which continues to intrigue researchers today. It is also noteworthy because of recently released Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) documents, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which indicate that the U.S. intelligence community apparently took a great interest in the Dalnegorsk UFO crash.

Often called “Russia’s Roswell,” this unusual event is fully explored in this new book by Paul Stonehill, founder of the Russian Ufology Research Center, and U.K. researcher Philip Mantle. In addition to complete analysis of the Dalnegorsk crash, the book fully covers the mysterious 1908 Tunguska Event in Siberia, which some people believe was an alien spacecraft that fell to Earth.

Stonehill said, "Unidentified objects have been seen both on land and in the sea throughout Russia’s history. In addition to an in-depth analysis of two reported UFO crashes, each of which has been called 'Russia’s Roswell Incident,' our book also gives you an overview of the most important cases, observations, and sightings in the lands formerly known as the Soviet Union."

"Russia is a huge country. Many of its areas, especially in Siberia, Far Eastern provinces and the Arctic regions, have not been completely explored even today, in the early 21st century," Stonehill added. "During the last one hundred years Russia has gone through bloody revolutions, wars, transformations of its economy, purges, famine, invasions, and other life-shattering events. Millions of Russians perished in concentration camps created by Soviet Marxist Leninists and German National Socialists. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, died from famine and starvation. Others were exiled, banished, maimed, their lives torn apart by terrible events of the 20th century."

"And yet, even in the darkest of times, there were those in the USSR who had observed strange and perplexing unidentified flying or submersible objects and found ways to preserve their observations. Such anomalous phenomena had never escaped the attention of the Soviet rulers and the nation’s armed forces."

Since UFOs were a forbidden subject for citizens of the Soviet Union, this book mostly contains UFO reports by scientists, pilots, military personnel, cosmonauts, and other Soviet “officials” with a high enough standing to risk telling their stories. As a result, the reader will not find accounts from random, run-of-the-mill citizens who, after their encounter, ran to the local newspaper to “tell all.” Instead, the UFO sightings in this book are mostly from sources generally considered to be “highly reliable,” including many highly-trained observers such as astronomers, cosmonauts, and aircraft pilots.

Among the incredible stories told in the book is that of a close encounter at a major Russian missile base in 1994. The authors report that a UFO measuring about 75 feet in diameter made a soft landing on three landing support legs in front of the main building at the base that is a key part of Russia’s air defense system.

The report states that “something” resembling a flying saucer landed in the plaza in front of the main building. Five minutes later all soldiers not on combat duty formed a perimeter around the UFO, their machine guns at the ready. Observing the object from a distance of 300-500 feet, the soldiers said it was a classic “saucer” – a silver disk with a dome on the top, three semi-spheres on the bottom, and three landing supports.

As noted, the object’s diameter was about 75 feet, and the dome’s diameter was about 20 feet. The three semi-spheres on the bottom were about 15 feet in diameter. The object’s silver color was accentuated by a slight hint of blue, and it gleamed very brightly in the sunlight of mid afternoon.

Within 10 minutes of the landing, the military unit’s watch officer reported the UFO to superiors. The soldiers were ordered not to approach the UFO and to cease all activities that might be viewed as aggressive and might initiate a retaliatory response from the object. The orders also instructed the base to get ready to receive an airplane containing a “mobile laboratory” of government UFO researchers. The plane carrying 15 military research specialists arrived about three hours later.

After filming the object on their approach to the site, the researchers split up into three groups. Dressed in shiny, hermetically-sealed, biohazard suits, and waving various instruments, the rapid response team approached the UFO. When they got within about 20 feet, the object or the surrounding air suddenly “rippled” as if struck by some type of distortion wave. A strange sizzling noise was heard, and the soil shook a little underneath the observers’ feet. Then the UFO began a slow ascent, and as it lifted off, it “pulled” the asphalt-covered surface of the plaza towards it. That “pull” extended from the edges to the center of the plaza.

Paul Stonehill was born in Kiev, USSR, in 1959 and emigrated to the U.S. in 1973. A recognized expert on the history and culture of the former Soviet Union, author, TV consultant, lecturer, and researcher of Eurasian paranormal phenomena, Paul founded the Los Angeles-based Russian Ufology Research Center in 1991. Paul has excellent sources in the UFO research community in Russia, Ukraine and Eastern Europe.

Philip Mantle is the former Director of Investigations for the British UFO Research Association, former Mutual UFO Network representative for England, and an honorary member of the Research Institute on Anomalous Phenomena in the Ukraine. He is an international lecturer on the subject of UFOs and has also worked for a variety of TV and radio companies around the world.

Their new book, Russia's Roswell Incident and Other Amazing UFO Cases from the Former Soviet Union, 302 pages in length with many rare UFO photos from the Russian UFO archives, retails for $14.95 and is available at http://roswellbooks.com/?page_id=92 and all online book sellers.